Friday, January 29, 2016

The amount and variety of news we
can receive in 2016 is non-stop and never ending. Tablets, phones, Facebook,
and Twitter, and the 24-hour news cycle are all relatively new ways to keep
updated on current events. These along with the more traditional newspapers can
make the process overwhelming. Flashback to 100 years ago and you might have the
opposite problem. News was limited to newspapers and through other people that
you interacted with throughout the day. A unique way to receive news came along
with the advent of the first radio news program in August, 1920. From there,
the next innovation was the television with the first news broadcast on TV in
1930 and the first regular news broadcast in 1940. Absolutely none of this matters
if you can’t understand the language, customs, and traditions of the country
you just moved to. So just how did the growing immigrant population in Schenectady figure out what was going on in their city? Certain pioneering
immigrants started newspapers that highlighted the issues that were important
to these immigrant groups. Many of the papers were published in both English
and in the native tongue of the publisher and were generally published as a weekly
paper. This entry focuses on the German, Italian, and Polish newspapers of Schenectady.

Oswald E. Heck and the Herold-Journal

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Oswald E. Heck as a young man. In addition to his skills as a newspaper editor, Heck published a book of poems in German titled Leben und Weben (Life and its Weavings) in 1922. Photo courtesy of the February 1, 1923 issue of the Daily Gazette.

German immigration to the
United States increased dramatically in the 19th Century and they
were the largest group of immigrants from 1840 to 1880. Schenectady’s
commercial and industrial growth during this time drew many Germans to the area.
Many early German immigrants worked in broom manufacturing, but ALCO and GE
soon became the main draw to Schenectady. The first German language newspaper
in Schenectady was the Deutscher Anzeiger
(German Indicator) which was formed in 1873 and lasted until 1897. Three
years later another German paper was established, Das Deutsch Journal. Oswald E. Heck who had worked as a compositor on
the Deutscher became the editor of a
new German paper named Das Deutsche
Journal. Heck came to Schenectady with his family and started working for
ALCO, but his knack for writing led him to work for the Deutscher where he learned to set type and would write an
occasional article. Heck and Das Deutsche
Journal compositor Thomas Unseld Sr.would go on to start another German newspaper in 1910 named the
Schenectady Herold. World War I caused the merger of the Herold and Das Deustche Journal, creating
the Schenectady Herold-Journal which
published its first paper in April, 1917. With a new name came a new
headquarters and the paper moved to 206 Clinton St. The paper was growing and
required an even larger quarters by 1921 when the offices moved to 151 Barrett
St. Unseld Sr. died in 1951 and his post as treasurer of the Schenectady Herold
Printing Company was filled by his son, Thomas Unseld Jr. Heck died in 1954 and
left his interest in the company to his children, Oswald D. Heck (who was very
important in NYS politics, but that’s a story for another post), Else Raag, and
Edwin Heck. The paper continued until 1964 when it ceased publication. Microfilm
of the Schenectady Herold-Journal for certain years can be found at the
archives of the University of Albany.Italian-American
Giornale

One problem with
researching ethnic groups through newspapers is the lack of an actual newspaper
to research. Researcher and future
presenter at the Schenectady County Historical Society Robert Pascucci was
quoted in a June 25, 1984 Gazette article that few of the ethnic newspapers
remain today and that “This material has been lost in the Capital
District…Unfortunately, the interest doesn’t seem to have been there.” As far
as news reports on the Italian-American community, modern researchers don’t
have a lot of resources to turn to. The news that was published in
Schenectady’s larger newspapers often focused on the criminal aspect. Schenectady Papers like The Evening Star covered the arrests of Italians sometimes
reporting in broken English with headlines like “Me Take-A You Life." With articles
like those, it’s no surprise that Italian immigrants started their own
newspapers.One of the most prominent
Italian papers in Schenectady was Ettore Mancuso’s The Record (Previous librarian, Melissa Tacke wrote a great post on
Ettore
Mancuso and The Record). The Record
focused on the concerns of Italian-Americans, and often published articles and
advertisements in both Italian and English. Other Italian language papers in
Schenectady were the Il Corriere di
Schenectady and The International,
but few issues of these papers exist today. The library’s Ettore Mancuso
Collection has issues of The Record
and a guide to this collection can be found here.

Enthusiasm of the Polish Press

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

Article from the Feb. 6th issue of the Gazeta Tygodniowa.Courtesy of
Phyllis Zych-Budka.

﻿﻿﻿A common thread that ran
through the papers run by Schenectady’s immigrants was a willingness to support
their fellow countrymen along with their new city. The previously mentioned Record would often publish articles promoting local Italian
businesses and push for Schenectadians to buy local. Similar to that idea, Polish papers like Tygodnik (Weekly News) and Gazeta Tygodniowa (Weekly Gazette) would
boost the accomplishments of Schenectady’s Polonia. SCHS member Phyllis
Zych-Budka is currently writing a book about the Maska Dramatic Club, which was
a Polish theater group. Phyllis recently brought in several articles from
various Schenectady Polish newspapers relating to various Maska plays and
events.The difference in tone between
the Polish papers and English papers is quite noticeable. The English papers
were more factual, relating the location of the play, a brief description of
the plot, and who was in the cast. The Polish papers were very descriptive and the
publishers are adamant about getting people to attend and support events put on
by other Polish-Americans. Examples of the publisher's style can be seen in the clippings posted.

﻿

Article on the 50th anniversary of General Electric where the Polish division achieved first place in the float contest. The float featured F.G. Halturewicz as Thomas Edison and Stanley Zych as Steinmetz. The author goes on to write that "Our float was excellent, beautiful, and in good taste, full of color and most important depicted the progress of General Electric..." Clipping and translation courtesy of Phyllis Zych Budka.

The Grems-Doolittle
Library is looking for issues or clippings from some of these difficult to find
newspapers or if you know of any other immigrant run newspapers. Contact Librarian, Michael Maloney at 518-374-0263 or librarian@schenectadyhistorical.org
if you have any leads.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Thanks to volunteer Diane Leone for research assistance.The Glen surname is
attached to a couple different places around New York. Glenville in Schenectady
County is named after Alexander Lindsay Glen and Scotia was named by Alexander after his home country Scotland. The Glen Sanders Mansion in
Scotia was originally built by Alexander, and expanded by his son John Glen.
Its name comes from the marriage of Alexander’s great-granddaughter
Debra Glen to John Sanders. Glens Falls is named after John Glen Jr., confusingly not the son of John Glen, but of John's son Jacob. Like
many of the Glens before them, John Jr. and his brother Henry were quite prominent throughout
Schenectady. The brothers were also held in high esteem with many with many
people of national historic significance and were acquainted with the likes of William
Johnson, Governor George Clinton of New York, Alexander Hamilton and
George Washington.

Furniture from the Glen Sanders Mansion is on display at the Schenectady County Historical Society. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library photo collection.

The brothers Glen were
born in Albany to Jacob Glen and Elizabeth Cuyler, John was born in 1735 and
Henry in 1739. Their father Jacob was a merchant and trader who owned a house
on Steuben Street in Albany. He was also closely affiliated with Albany city
government as he was elected assistant alderman to the second ward in 1734 and
1735 and appointed firemaster in 1741. Their mother Elizabeth Cuyler was also
well connected in Albany. Her father was Johannes Cuyler who served as
assistant alderman, and eventually alderman for Albany’s second ward in the
early 1700s. Johannes was also elected as a representative to the New York
General Assembly and a number of other public offices, including mayor of
Albany in 1725. After Jacob died in 1746, Elizabeth continued to raise their
children at the “Glen House” till her death in 1785.

Both Henry and John
started off as merchants in Albany. According to the website “The People of
Colonial Albany,” John may have been a business partner with the venerable fur
trader Hendrick Bleecker as he was identified with Glen as the occupants of a
second ward house in a 1767 tax list. Starting in the 1760s, John started
buying land in Schenectady, Fort Edward, and what would become Glens Falls. The
acquisition of this land by John Glen is suspect to local legend and he
acquired it either through a debt that was owed to him, by a card game, or in
exchange for hosting a party for mutual friends. Henry also became interested
in real estate and owned houses in Albany and Schenectady.

The brothers were also heavily involved in military affairs and the family’s affiliation with William Johnson
during the French and Indian War resulted in John being appointed quartermaster
general with Henry as his assistant. John was also the captain of the Second
Battalion of Militia of Schenectady which included Jacob Schermerhorn as 1st
Lieutenant, John’s brother Henry as 2nd Lieutenant, and other
prominent Schenectady residents.

Letter to Henry Glen from Jonathan Mix, telling of suspending any further
preparations for transporting garrisons & stores to western posts from Gen.
Washington. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library Collection

During the American
Revolution, Henry continued to serve in the army as Assistant Deputy Quartermaster
for the northern department of the army where his role was to gather and
facilitate the distribution of military supplies for northeastern New York. He
supplied provisions and transportation for the five forts in the Mohawk Valley
and also managed the construction of new barracks in Schenectady, where he was
stationed. Often funding these projects and buying supplies with his own money
as was the case in the spring of 1781. The frontier towns were desperately in
need of supplies, troops were deserting, and it was feared that Schenectady
might be attacked. Boats were being built in Schenectady to transport materiel
to Fort Stanwix and Henry Glen used his own credit to build 16 bateaux for the
military. Henry was extremely devoted to the cause of the Revolution, but
disheartened that his fellow countrymen did not feel similarly in a letter to
Colonel Hugh Hughes Henry Glen writes that “…no man longs more to make an end
of the War than I do by carrying it on with Vigour, I am and always was willing
to pledge my Life and little Property for the support of the war but am sorry
to find the Virtue and Exertions of the People are lost throughout the whole
Country.” In addition to his duties as quartermaster, Henry was the captain of
the local militia.

﻿﻿

Partial letter from Henry Glen to New York's Board of Treasury from 1788 regarding
his payment as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This letter is an example of
some of the financial woes that Henry encountered after the Revolution.
Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library Collection

There wasn’t much
mentioned about John Glen during or after the Revolutionary War. Some sources
mention that he was also a quartermaster during the Revolution, but I haven’t
been able to accurately verify this. He was a friend of George Washington and may have even
hosted Washington at his house at 58 Washington Avenue in Schenectady’s
Stockade on Washington’s first visit to Schenectady in 1775. John Glen was listed
on the roster of the 2nd Albany Militia, and on July 25, 1778 he was
also called to appear before the Commissioners of Conspiracies on July 25, 1778
and signed an oath of allegiance four years later in 1782. Unfortunately, significant
debt forced John from his home in 1810 and he was supported by friends until
his death in 1828 at the age of ninety-three.

﻿

John Glen Jr.'s house at 58 Washington in Schenectady. A New York State historic marker was placed in front of this house, but has since deteriorated to the point where only the signpost remains. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle photograph collection.

For Henry Glen, the end of the Revolutionary
War brought about a continuation of the public service that he
started as clerk of Schenectady County in 1767. He served as a state assembly
member from 1786-1787, then as a representative in the U.S. Congress from
1793-1801. He also continued his position as deputy quartermaster and
was involved with the movement of supplies and troops throughout New York
State. Shortly after the war Henry fell into debt which was caused partially by his personal expense during the war. This debt stayed
with him for most of his life and he was met with much difficulty in trying to
recover payment from the government for the multiple positions he served in
during and after the war. Henry’s fortunes were never completely recovered, and
as Chris Hunter states in his paper A Slave
to the Army: Henry Glen and Public Service in the Early Republic, “he died
January 6 1814, ending his adulthood as he had begun it, in the service of the
government.”